Vol. 72/No. 15      April 14, 2008

Winds were gusty as construction workers building the Paramount Bay Condo, a 46-story luxury condominium building in downtown Miami, attempted to lift a 20-foot extension onto a crane, a process known as “jumping.”

The seven-ton extension broke free and fell some 37 floors, crashing into a building below that was serving as a construction safety office.

Carpenter Jeremy Thornsbury, 21, and Terrance Hennessy, a safety inspector for an insurance company, were inside the building when the huge piece of equipment made impact. Hennessy died on the scene and Thornsbury died later that day.

Russell Dyer was working on a construction elevator 15 feet above the ground when he heard a loud sound overhead. Looking up to see the extension falling toward him, Dyer jumped off the elevator and ran, suffering injuries.

The construction crew had already delayed jumping the crane for several days because of concerns about high winds, according to Dan Sielicki, risk manager for Baker Concrete, the company that had hired Morrow Equipment Co. to operate the crane.

Thomas Barth, owner of a South Carolina crane inspection company, told the Miami Herald, “It costs big money not to use a crane—the whole job shuts down. Supervision was probably pushing them to get that crane up there.” Barth said construction bosses routinely push the limits.

Darlene Fossum, the area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, was quick to call Bovis Lend Lease, the project’s general contracting company, a “very highly reputable and safety conscious company.”

Morrow Equipment Co., which has one of the largest fleets of tower cranes in North America, had a fatal crane collapse in Bellevue, Washington, in 2006.

In the wake of that accident, inspectors examined cranes in the area, finding cracks in two cranes and faulty welding in a third. Two of the three faulty cranes were owned by Morrow.

In Florida crane operation is neither licensed nor regulated. After the fatal crane accident here, Florida governor Charles Christ said that he now supports pending legislation to regulate the training and certification of heavy crane operators.  
 
 
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